


A Beary Happy Valentine's Day

by victoria_p (musesfool)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Schmoop, Threesome - F/M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-12 07:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1183329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/pseuds/victoria_p
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For their first Valentine's day together, Natasha and Steve each give Bucky a Bucky Bear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Beary Happy Valentine's Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amy/gifts).



> Based on [**this head canon**](http://cacchieressa.tumblr.com/post/76165110134/headcanon-as-a-propaganda-tool-the-us-actually) from Amy. Thanks to Snacky for looking it over and making it better.

Steve can't help but be aware of Captain America memorabilia, both the stuff from the war, and the stuff that proliferated afterwards. Especially after the Battle of New York. In the immediate aftermath, he signs Agent Coulson's bloodstained cards and keeps them in an envelope in his pocket; he occasionally thinks of mailing them to Coulson's next of kin, but he never quite manages to ask Fury who that is. And once the world knows he's back, production of Captain America merchandise goes into overdrive, rivalling the ubiquity of Iron Man and the Disney Princesses. 

He grimaces at some of the stuff the SHIELD PR people show him (not that he gets veto power, even though occasionally he'd like to have it), but the child-sized plastic shields are fun, and he can't complain too much about footie pajamas that look like his uniform, or the Tiny Princess Captain America outfits that start to show up on Etsy. But somehow he doesn't actually see a Bucky Bear until weeks later, when he's in the gift shop at the hospital, looking for a candy bar to bring up to Dum Dum. 

He'd never had a teddy bear as a kid; he doesn't remember many toys at all--a box of crayons and a set of jacks were about the extent of it--but even though Bucky never wore a mask (and he certainly didn't wear red shorts), Steve knows exactly who the bear sitting next to Captain Ameri-bear is when he sees him. Because there are comics for kids where Bucky is his kid sidekick, so it makes perfect sense for there to be toys, too. It hurts to think about how Bucky would respond to that--how indignant he'd be at first about being reduced to Steve's sidekick, and then later, he'd laugh and secretly be proud that kids looked up to him, the way Steve always had when they were kids.

He doesn't even think about it--he puts Bucky Bear on the counter and it's only after he's paid for it that he remembers Dum Dum's Hershey bar.

*

Steve doesn't _intend_ to sleep with Bucky Bear. He puts it on his bed because that is what you do with stuffed animals, but he's a grown man and anyway, it was never a habit when he was a kid.

Still, when he wakes up at three a.m. shaking and clammy with sweat after another nightmare about Bucky falling from the train, he grabs Bucky Bear and holds on for dear life, the way he didn't--couldn't--when it mattered most.

He's a little embarrassed in the morning when he wakes up clutching a toy, but he didn't have any more nightmares, so he's not going to question it. And it's not like there's anyone there to see him. He asked Natasha to clear out all of SHIELD's cameras before he moved in.

After that, more often than not (at least while he's sleeping at home), he cuddles Bucky Bear close at night and sleeps better for it. It's not the same as having Bucky there, but Steve's always been good at making the best of what he's got. 

*

Even in his wildest dreams, Steve had never expected to get Bucky back. It's been a long struggle, but worth it to see recognition light on his face, to be at his side as he gets better, becoming less suicidal and more himself, even if the haunted look never quite leaves his eyes. And it's not just Steve, which is even more unexpected. Natasha is there every step of the way. Steve decided early on that he wasn't going to be jealous, even though Bucky's attention had always been the one thing he never wanted to share, but in the end it wasn't even necessary. Bucky's heart--always bigger than anyone gave him credit for--was big enough for both of them, and Steve discovered his was, too. 

This thing between the three of them is still new, but it doesn't feel fragile, the way Steve was afraid it might, that the wrong word or touch would send them all tumbling into heartbreak. Instead, it's sweet and strong and heady as a belt of whiskey used to be, back when he could still get drunk.

So he doesn't fret too much about making a hash of Valentine's gifts. He buys a good bottle of champagne for Natasha, knowing Bucky's picking up some chocolate-dipped strawberries for her, as well. He and Natasha don't coordinate their gifts for Bucky, though, and by the day itself, he still has no idea what to get the guy who's been his best friend for eighty years.

He takes Bucky Bear from where he sits on the top of the dresser--now that Steve's got the real thing back, he doesn't need the toy version as much, but maybe it will help Bucky sleep the way it did him when he first found himself here in the future. Bucky Bear is a little worn around the edges now, but Steve's pretty sure that won't matter to Bucky at all. He sticks a red bow on the bear's chest and heads out for Valentine's Day dinner with his best guy and his best girl.

*

Natasha's apartment is uncluttered but surprisingly cozy. After a dinner of Thai takeout, they pop open the champagne Steve brought and dive into the chocolate-dipped strawberries. Steve likes this part a lot, the three of them on the sofa, trading slow, sweet, strawberry-flavored kisses for what feels like hours. 

He makes a soft, distressed sound when Natasha lifts herself off his lap and says, "We have to give James his gifts."

Bucky blinks in surprise. "You mean this wasn't it? 'Cause I gotta tell you, I was gonna enjoy unwrapping both of you." 

Natasha rolls her eyes, but her mouth quirks into a half-smile. Steve shakes his head and laughs. "You haven't lost your touch, Buck."

"It's amazing to me that you ever got laid," Natasha says, bringing over a neatly wrapped package topped with a pink bow and handing it to Bucky.

Bucky's grin is smug as he shrugs a shoulder. "You never complained."

Natasha glances at Steve for support, but he's just so happy that Bucky's back to his old self that he can only smile goofily at her. She throws up her hands in mock-disgust and then starts laughing when Steve hooks an arm around her waist and pulls her back down into his lap.

"I'll get you for this, Steve."

He blows a raspberry against her neck that makes her bite back a giggle. "I sure hope so."

Bucky tears at the wrapping paper, which reveals a brand new Bucky Bear. "Huh."

"They were a popular propaganda tool in the Fifties," Natasha says. "Though they've always sold well." 

"Of course they did," Bucky says, his mouth curved in a half-grin that Steve wants to kiss off his face.

"I had this one modified specifically for you." 

Once the bear is clear of the paper, Steve can see that its left arm is made of metal, much like Bucky's is now, with his shield painted on the shoulder. That sight always makes his heart clench, that Bucky would choose to mark himself so visibly as Steve's.

"How'd you get Stark to agree to this?" Bucky asks, running a finger along the bear's metal arm.

"He's easy enough to manage if you know how." Natasha grins. "I asked Pepper."

"Ah."

"Great minds think alike," Steve says, leaning over the arm of the couch to pull out his Bucky Bear. It's button eyes are still bright, but its mask is creased and its fur is a little frayed around the edges. Compared to the brand new one, it looks like a toy that's been used--loved--for years. "Mine's not so fancy, though."

Bucky plucks off the bow and brushes back the fur on the bear's head. He cocks his head and gives Steve a thorough look. "You sure about this? Looks like this little guy's been with you through a lot."

Steve leans in and presses a quick kiss to his lips. "I'm sure. I want you to have him now." He hopes Bucky Bear can help Bucky as much as he's helped Steve.

The celebration moves to the bedroom after that, and Steve gets the best Valentine's gift ever. And when he wakes up from a nightmare of drowning in icy water, his first thought is of Bucky Bear, but with Bucky curled close in his arms and Natasha warm and soft against his back, Steve doesn't need him anymore. 

Bucky turns his head and murmurs, "It's okay, Steve. I'm right here. Go back to sleep." 

And Steve does.

end


End file.
